Daryl Carter's Tips: 6/1 A class drop is warmly welcomed for Bank Holiday Epsom NAP

• Two Monday selections

• Back 6/17.00 Gorak to relish the drop in grade at Epsom

• O'Meara's Ripon record can be enhanced.

The closest I came to a third Monday bet was the opening contest at 14:07 at Epsom. A few of these hold chances. Jim Boyle has a couple of new recruits lining up on the Epsom card, and Many Men was unfortunate not to be a debut winner for former connections and George Boughey.

Though that came at Newmarket, it was a selling event. Still, the fact that Boughey has offloaded him and the fifth is 66/167.00 for a Class 5 Maiden at Chepstow should temper any enthusiasm. The standard is not set high and running to around 73 will land this Maiden.

Tactical Plan's rating of 75 is possibly a little high, but it was a fair handicap he contested last time. Letsbeatsepsis took a backward step last time at Brighton but should appreciate this seven-furlong trip. Gap Year has an absence of 80 days to overcome, having also taken a step backwards at Brighton, and is another that could go well up to this trip.

Still, the one of most interest is Ralph Beckett's Square D'Alboni 15/28.50, who went off at just 10/34.33 on debut and had excuses there, having suffered a wound to his right hind. He has been granted the plum draw. The race he debuted 37 days ago has worked out well. The winner was close behind Angel Hunter at York, the fourth is since a winner and the seventh is rated 70. He is a risky proposition but he might be worth chancing in a race where something has to step forward.

14:42 Epsom - Back Gorak @ 6/17.00 1pt (NAP)

The worst-priced horse in this race at the time of writing is Bobby Bennu 10/34.33, who has a mountain to climb if he is to reverse Kempton form with Summer Of Love, who is 13 lb better off at the weights. He lines up following a poor effort at Newmarket 16 days ago, so it will take a huge effort for him to score here.

Summer Of Love arrives following a creditable effort at Doncaster. He bumped into a well-treated rival. However, you'd have to be concerned with how she hung right in the closing stages, and the winner was value for a good bit more, having been denied a clear run. This track poses a big question. She is tall and athletic, and hanging away from the camber will do her no favours should she repeat the Doncaster antics here.

Three-year-olds have not won this race in three renewals, but I am interested in Piz Nair going forward from a fair mark. Along with Sterling Knight, he is another who will appreciate a flat track and a quicker surface than today's good to soft.

I do want to keep an eye on Son Of Man but he might be best watched on his first start for Jim Boyle who I mentioned has a couple starting out for the yard today.

Gorak - 6/17.00 on the Betfair Sportsbook - hasn't been a single figure price since he scored a Class 3 handicap at Haydock last May, which will tell you all you need to know about the strength of races he has been contesting. He has been a long suffer of the handicap system since a brilliant run in the Group 3 John Of Gaunt Stakes last June.

However, that has not stopped him from finishing an excellent fourth to Poet Master (beaten three lengths) on seasonal return, a short-head second to Carrytheone and a very creditable 12th in the Buckingham Palace from the wrong side of the track (second by a head to Percy's Lad and well clear of the rest).

It would be best if you forgave a below-par run in July with connections freshening him up with a 44-day break since, and this is much easier than any assignment he has had this term and he now returns to Class 3 company. He has been granted the plum draw and will have no issue with the slower ground. Hector Crouch is a positive booking for this yard (2-3 in the last five years), and it looks like the opportunity connections have been searching for. I don't expect money for him, but 9/25.50 or bigger is an acceptable price.

15:47 Ripon - Back Padishakh @ 5/16.00 1pt

This is another race where older horses have held sway over the years, and David O'Meara, in particular, holds an excellent record, scoring four times in the last ten years. Padishakh - 5/16.00 on the Betfair Sportsbook - showed much more last time at Thirsk on his third outing of the year, and his form in France suggests he has a race in him from a rating in the low 90s.

The handicapper has been quick to relent, dropping him eight pounds for three outings this season. However, the first came in the Listed Doncaster Mile, the second in the Royal Hunt Cup, and the third his latest at Thirsk, which was a three-length defeat behind La Trinidad. That Thirsk race has already seen the form well represented, as the third scored in the Clipper Handicap, and the runner-up finished a close-up fourth in the same race.

The selection was held up with little chance on the rail, but he finished his race off well. Perhaps adding the hood and tongue tie for the first time prompted an improved performance, and with the headgear retained today, he looks worth siding with in an open event. Daniel Tudhope has chosen him over the yards other runner Pisanello and I am expected a more prominent ride today from a good birth in stall two. He appeals at 4/15.00 or bigger.

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